The little engine that could...

i think i can, i think i can....i KNOW i can, I KNOW I CAN!!!!! The 3rd and final round of sutent worked...you can see the veins that connect the kidney to the aorta now. the cancer surrounding them has been reduced so much that you can see them! the surgeon can see them which means he can get the kidney out! i am no longer in the "inoperable" category. what seemed like an unachievable goal 5 months ago has been achieved...phase 1 accomplished. dr. doom is so pleased with my response to the sutent, he is all smiles each time i see him now. that just feels wonderful.

the pre-op appointment with my surgeon is this thurs., feb 21st. i am excited and scared at the same time. the earliest that surgery could be scheduled is the first week in march. they cannot operate until i have been off of the sutent for at least 1 month. my last pill was jan 30. i have no idea when they will actually schedule the surgery however, i only know the earliest possible date. i expect to find out when they want to schedule it at the thurs appointment. i'm also hoping to find out whether they can do laparoscopic or open surgery, now long i will be in surgery, the risks involved, length of hospital stay, recovery time, etc.
i'll update when i find out more...

surgery is phase 2 of my fight against cancer. dr. doom has more plans for me. after successful surgery and recovery, the plan is to start me on Interleukin-2. this will not be fun....not like any of the challenges i have had to face have been easy in this battle, but i think that the IL-2 will be the worst. IL-2 is another immunotherapy treatment that is administered intravenously over a 5 to 7 day period in ICU. it is the only treatment that has had any success as far as complete remission in RCC patients. it is a highly toxic treatment which is why i must be in ICU for the duration of the treatment. it is also the most aggressive approach, but my dr. has confidence in how my body will handle it since i was so tolerant of the sutent. the IL-2 treatment is so toxic, that they will only administer it a maximum of 3 times...and only if you show progress between each of the treatments. if you show no progress during the first treatment, your doctor may or may not choose to put you through a 2nd round. if you show no progress during the second, they will stop. also, it is so tough on your body, on your heart and lungs, that there is a 6 to 12 week "recover" period between each treatment. the immediate side effects should subside in just a week or so, but they will not put you through the next treatment until your body has had a chance to rest.

once again, the odds are stacked against me. the success rate percentages are low...15-20% partial or complete responses to the treatment with a 10 year survival rate of 12-15%. i LOVE proving the "odds" wrong. i've already proven the odds wrong once and damnit, i am going to do it again. i HAVE to...i have no other choice. i WILL prove them wrong. this is one time in my life when it has paid to be stubborn. ha!

here's a link to info on IL-2 if anyone is interested in more details.
http://cancerguide.org/rcc_il2hd.html

one good thing about the surgery date....the 15th is a saturday and last i checked, they don't schedule surgery on saturdays. so, it will not be during the ides of march. no need to fear the "impending doom" as poor Julius Caesar should have. Ha!